Maxime Ferrari

Dr Jean Désiré Maxime Ferrari, KSS, OBE (French pronunciation: [dʒin deziʁe mæksim ferˈraːri; 27 January 1930 – 29 June 2021) was a politician and former obstetrician who held several different positions in the government of the Seychelles. He was widely regarded as an activist against corrupt governmental practices and a champion of human rights and democracy in the African island nations of the Indian Ocean. He was most recognised for his role as a Founding Father of the Indian Ocean Commission (La Commission de l'Océan Indien), an intergovernmental organisation designed to strengthen the relationship between the five African Indian Ocean nations, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros, Madagascar and Réunion (an overseas region of France). In 1985, he became the Regional Representative and Director of the Regional Office for Africa of the United Nations Environment Programme. Maxime Ferrari was born on 27 January 1930, on the largest of the Seychellois islands, Mahé. He left Seychelles for the first time in July 1949, on board the SS Karanja, a British India steamer, to travel to Europe via Bombay. After attending primary and secondary school in the islands, he went to study medicine at University College, Cork and qualified M.B., B.Ch., B.A.O.(National University of Ireland) in 1955. His first three medical positions were based in Northampton, before he returned to Seychelles in 1957. Here, he practised mostly obstetrics and gynaecology until 1975. During this time, he founded and presided over a number of social, cultural and development organisations. In Seychelles, he was decorated for services rendered to the community. In 1972, he was also made a Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester by the Pope, Paul VI, for services rendered to the Church and in 1976, he received an OBE. Upon his return to Seychelles, he worked in both the Baie Sainte Anne cottage hospital and the local ward situated on the island of La Digue. Once a week, he would travel to Curieuse Island to tend to an isolated population who were suffering from Hansen’s disease (leprosy).